Less cooperation with ICE? LA County’s sheriff oversight panel is considering it

Apple Valley resident Raul Rodriguez, Jr. holds up signs during a discussion on immigration at a meeting Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018 of L.A. CountyÕs Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission at the Metropolitan Water District office in downtown L.A. (Photo by Brenda Gazzar)

Ideas to further limit cooperation between Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and federal immigration officials were met with cheers and jeers from community members Thursday at a civilian oversight meeting in downtown Los Angeles.

The recent passage of Senate Bill 54, sometimes referred to as a “sanctuary state” law, already limits the ability of state and local police —including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department—to cooperate with ICE and other federal officials.

But Hernán D. Vera, chair of the immigration ad-hoc committee for the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, argued that the law should be considered only “a floor” and “not a ceiling” when it comes to curbing cooperation.

“What we’re talking about, for the most part, in these (preliminary) recommendations is people who have served their time and are now being released,” Vera said in an interview after the meeting at the Metropolitan Water District office near the Los Angeles Union Station. “Do we as a county spend our resources on facilitating voluntary transfers to (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Do we want to be that kind of county or not? I think that’s the nature of the discussion.”

Some of the preliminary recommendations the immigration ad-hoc committee is considering, according to Vera, are:

• That the Sheriff’s Department not honor immigration holds – holding inmates longer than their release date so that ICE has extra time to take them into custody – unless required by state or federal law.

• That the Sheriff’s Department not disseminate information about the release status or other confidential information conerning an inmate unless required by state or federal law.

• That the Sheriff’s Department not provide information to ICE if not available to the public.

• That the department avoid responding to ICE requests for backup or assistance on operations that lack “exigent circumstances,” such as lives being at risk.

Robert C. Bonner, chair of the civilian oversight commission, said Thursday that he would be opposed to a policy in which the department did not honor immigration holds from ICE.

That’s because he has “serious public safety concerns,” he said, about the potential of releasing undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of serious offenses, including rape and robbery.

Some speakers during the meeting’s public comment period felt like the recommendations didn’t go far enough in limiting cooperation, while others implied the recommendations were far too liberal.

Greg Susca, of the Crescenta Valley, said that he wanted to hear some compromises from the ad-hoc committee on its early recommendations.

Not honoring immigration holds did not seem like good policy, he said, and he wanted “something closer to what I can live with because I want my family to be safe.”

But Nina Torres of the National Immigration Law Center argued that with ICE repeatedly threatening to increase raids in the state, stronger measures were needed to “bar ICE from jails.”

She also wanted more transparency and accountability from the Sheriff’s Department, including information about whether Sheriff Jim McDonnell has been communicating with the Department of Homeland Security, she said.

The discussion came a day after the U.S. Justice Department warned state and local officials who are seeking public safety grant money that they could be legally forced to cooperate with federal immigration officials. The department has repeatedly threatened to deny millions of dollars in important grant money to communities that refuse to comply with a federal statute requiring information-sharing with federal authorities, as part of the Trump administration’s promised crackdown on cities and states that refuse to help enforce U.S. immigration laws.

McDonnell last year said he had been lobbying President Donald Trump’s administration to avoid potentially losing out on as much as $132 million in federal law enforcement grants over the next three years due to the department’s immigration policies.

He had initially opposed SB 54 on the grounds that it would prevent his department from responding to requests by federal immigration agents to be notified when its jails are housing inmates who might be subject to deportation. After compromises were made, he came to view it more kindly.

Vera said the ideas he shared at the meeting represent the three-member committee’s “preliminary thinking” on the matter and is intended to “jump start” the discussion on the part of the larger nine-member advisory board and the public.

The commission’s recommendations are only advisory — meaning McDonnell can adopt all or some of them.

The immigration ad-hoc committee is soliciting input from the public on the issue and will meet individually with community members from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, to receive oral and written comments at the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk office located at 4716 E. Chavez Ave. in Los Angeles.

Those who want to speak to committee members should register with the commission by calling 213-253-5678. Speaker registration will be cut-off at 2 p.m. on Jan. 29 or sooner if the schedule fills up and closes, according to the commission.

Vera said he expects commissioners to continue the immigration discussion at next month’s civilian oversight commission meeting. In the coming months, the ad-hoc committee will present a report with proposed recommendations for review and approval by the commission.